Through the Wardrobe
by sammi2992
Summary: AU: Snow escapes the curse through the wardrobe still pregnant with Emma. Snow must raise Emma by herself and hope that she can prepare her to complete her destiny.
1. Chapter 1

Snow clutched her belly, doubling over as another contraction hit. Her breathing was deep and panicked. She couldn't stop, not now. She had to make it to the wardrobe. Snow shuffled awkwardly done the corridor to Emma's nursery, one hand on her enormous belly and the other holding up the many layers of her full skirts. Battle sounds rang all around the palace. She was running out of time.

The Evil Queen and the curse were inside and making their way to her. Snow could see the dark purple clouds swarming the lower levels out of the windows lining the hall. The entire forest was covered, she couldn't see a single tree top. A mass of purple spread the length of the horizon, drowning the blue sky and gliding over the grey water.

"Snow, hurry!" Charming's desperate voice sounded somewhere behind her. She turned briefly to see where her husband was. Charming came into the corridor behind her, sword and shield at the ready. He ran to her side putting an arm around her waist and taking her hand in his, ushered her to the nursery.

A crash sounded as four completely black-armored soldiers burst through the doors at the far end of the corridor. Charming squeezed Snows hand once before letting go and rushing at the Queen's men, holding them off. Snow fought the urge to turn back to Charming and threw the door to the nursery open.

Emma's nursery was in a tower that overlooked the ocean. It had red silk drapes that cascaded to the floor around the windows. Several book shelves lined the walls, stacked with pretty dolls and trinkets. A rocking chair sat in a corner near the balcony. Snow had dreamed many times of sitting there, holding Emma close, reading her stories, singing her to sleep, and watching the sun rise and set over the water.

Rumplestiltskin had been clear, though. It would take 28 years before the curse would be broken. She would never sit in that chair with her daughter.

There were toys that would now never be played with. A crib that would never be slept in. A wardrobe that would never be used to hold clothes. By the time they returned, Emma would be an adult.

Snow headed towards the wardrobe Geppetto had carved out of an enchanted tree. Another agonising slice ripped through Snow's mid-section and she let out a scream, gripping onto the side of the crib to stop herself from dropping to the ground.

"Snow!" Charming cried from the hall. He burst into the nursery and wrapped an arm around his wife, half-carrying her to the wardrobe.

Charming opened the intricately carved doors, ushering Snow inside. She had to sit, cramped in the wardrobe, it wasn't tall enough to stand upright in.

Snow took her husbands face in her hands "we will be back for you," she promised, pressing her lips to his. Hard, desperate. Snow's throat constricted, her stomach dropped and she felt the sticky tears well up in her eyes.

"I know you will. I love you," Charming stroked Snow's tear-stained cheeks one last time before stepping back to close the wardrobe doors.

Snow saw four black soldiers enter the nursery before she was shrouded in darkness and heard a small click of the lock. She yelled out once before the darkness swallowed her consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry, this took so long. Here is the final part of the prologue. _

* * *

A loud explosion brought Snow back to consciousness. The first thing she noticed was the pain shooting through her stomach. The second was the dampness in her skirts. She was still sitting inside something and it was dark and damp. As her eyes adjusted, Snow began to discern that the thing she was in was a tree trunk and in front of her was a large hole blasted through the side. Large enough for her to crawl out of. Snow clambered out doing her best to ignore the contractions searing through her mid-section.

She was in a forest. Trees were all around her, their tops high almost completely blocking the sky which was sporadically dotted by stars. On the ground was a trail of debris from the hole in the tree trunk. Cradling her stomach, Snow began walking through the trees.  
A beam of light from her left momentarily swiped across her then disappeared.

"Hello?" She called, heading towards where the light had come from.

The break in the trees and the blinding light came out of nowhere. Snow halted, cringing against the light, and waved furiously. The lights waved to the side of the clearing. With her vision back in tact, Snow could see that there were two beams coming from one large metal carriage. Doors opened and a man and woman rushed to her. The woman's hair was cut short, to her shoulders and frizzed out around her face. The man wore big round glasses that made his eyes look abnormally large. Snow was confused by their bright clothes and the seemingly strange material of the mans pants, known in this world, as denim.

"Are you ok?" The woman asked, wrapping an arm around Snow.

"She's coming!" Snow managed to get out.

"We need to get her to a hospital," the woman told the man. Snow furrowed her brow trying to make out what it was she was being escorted to.

The carriage looked in no way safe, "Where are the horses? No, what is this?" She said, panicking.

"It's ok. It's just a car. It's fine. Deep breaths," the woman assured Snow, taking her hand in her own. "It's going to be ok."

Snow let the woman guide her into the back of the strange carriage.

They drove up to a large building and helped her clamber from the car to the glass doors. The woman ran forward to pull the door open for the man to help Snow inside. The inside of the building was a scarily, sterile white. People sitting in stiff, uncomfortable fake chairs looked over at her briefly before turning back to the thin books in their laps, or to their conversations. They were also wearing the strange material and their hair was large and occasionally streaked with different colours and heavy metallic jewellery hung from ears and around necks.

"We need a doctor. She's in labour," Snow heard and then she was being ushered into a chair on wheels and placed on a bed with a few people around her, questions were being thrown around too fast for her to catch through the pain and confusion.

* * *

The moment Emma's tiny vulnerable cry broke and her fragile body was placed in Snow's arms, everything stopped. The infant in her arms with big eyes, a dusting of fair hair, and pink skin was her daughter. She was the single most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Oh, Emma" Snow gasped clasping the infant close.

The infant reached up a hand towards her mothers face. Snow placed a kiss on her forehead, and Emma took the opportunity to run her open palm across Snow's chin.

* * *

The morning after Emma was born, Snow was woken by Emma's cry. She eased to the side of her bed, where Emma's cot was and lifted her out. She cradled the infant close and Emma's cries ran flat. Instead wonder filled her eyes as she stared up at Snow.

A knock on the door pulled Snow's attention away. "Good morning. I'm Doctor Andrews." A doctor, probably only a few years older than Snow came into the room. A folder opened on her arm. "I just have a bit of paperwork for you to sort out" The doctor walked around to the end of the bed and picked up the chart at the end.

"Paperwork?" Snow asked confused, taking the pen and bundle of papers being held out to her.

"Yes. Also, we will need to get your name for your file. When you came in you weren't in the best shape. According to a nurse you said your name was Snow White," Andrews laughed. "Like from the fairytale".

Snow laughed uncomfortably, her mind whirling as she tried to think of a name. "I'm Mary Margaret" She said using the alias she had once used with Red. "Mary Margaret Blanchard".


End file.
